The present invention relates to a combination of a motor-vehicle door, in particular, that of a passenger car or commercial vehicle, and a storage box that is used to accommodate utensils, objects, etc.
German Published Patent Application No. 295 00 669 U describes a storage box which can be attached to the exterior of a motor vehicle, preferably to the rear end. The storage box is used to store first-aid equipment, and, because it is attached to the outside of the vehicle, it can immediately be seen by each road user and is thereby situated at an optimally accessible position. The intention here is to increase the overall traffic safety of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,457 describes another storage box, which is attached to the rear end of a vehicle. This storage box extends across the entire width of the vehicle, and is made of two halves, which can be swung outwards to open the storage box. This storage box increases the storage space of the vehicle.
German Published Patent Application No. 84 29 816 U describes a first-aid kit, which can be attached to an interior trim panel in the passenger compartment. Snap-on projections are provided for this purpose, which extend into the vehicle interior, and have detents, which are directed towards each other and laterally engage with the snap-on projections to secure the first-aid kit.
One object of the present invention is to improve the accessibility of a storage box in a motor-vehicle.
The present invention, according to one example embodiment thereof, provides a storage box that is integrated into an interior trim panel of a vehicle door, the interior trim panel having a storage compartment that is shaped to be complementary to the storage box, and the storage box being insertable into and removable from the storage compartment, in the form of a plug-and-socket connection. This allows the storage box to always be within reach of the driver or a passenger, so that the storage box may quickly be removed from its storage compartment, and its contents are available. These advantages may be of particular importance, when the storage box is designed to accommodate first-aid equipment. At the location of an accident, the driver or a passenger may then make the first-aid equipment available without delay or use it to administer first aid.
In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, an upper shell segment of the storage box may have, in a boundary segment adjacent to a lower shell segment, at least one region, which, in relation to the lower shell segment, protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, and rests on an opening edge of the storage compartment. This measure determines the depth to which the storage box may be inserted into the storage compartment, and may ensure that the inserted storage box always occupies a predetermined position relative to the interior trim panel. Thus, it may be ensured that the storage box is optically integrated into the interior trim.
This protruding region may be dimensioned so that it is flush with the opening edge. This allows the support to be designed to be particularly sturdy, while the integration of the outer contour of the storage box into the inner trim panel is simultaneously improved.
A handle may be formed in the upper shell segment, in order to improve the insertion and removal of the storage box.
In accordance with one example embodiment of the present invention, a locking arrangement is provided. In this example embodiment, first locking parts may be formed on the storage compartment, which interact with second locking parts formed on the lower shell segment. This locking arrangement may secure the storage box in the storage compartment, whereby the crash safety of the combination of the storage box and vehicle door is improved.
In another example embodiment, the storage box may be designed as a reinforcing member, which reinforces the vehicle door when the reinforcing member is inserted into the storage compartment. In the case of this example embodiment, the storage box is functionally integrated into the structure of the vehicle door. The stiffness of the storage box, which, for example, may be attained by a correspondingly rigid shell, may be used to improve or supplement the stiffness of the vehicle doors.
According to another example embodiment of the present invention, the back of the storage box, which rests against a panel of the interior trim when the storage box is inserted into the storage compartment, may be designed to be open, and thus, to allow free access to the contents of the storage box, when the storage box is removed from the storage compartment. This feature further improves the accessibility of the storage-box contents.
Additional significant features and advantages of the device according to the present invention are described below.
It should be understood that the above-mentioned features and the features still to be explained below may not only be used in each specified combination, but also in other combinations or alone, without abandoning the framework of the present invention.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is represented in the drawings and explained in detail in the following description.